Save Room For Me
by loveyourflaws
Summary: Barry visits Iris at work.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Joe, do you know where Iris is?"

Barry came home a few minutes ago expecting to find her there as well, but for the fourth day in a row, he was met with disappointment. He'd been texting her, even called her a few times, but her responses were equivocal and distracted, and he knew that was a result of the mayoral elections, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't currently despise her job just a little.

"I think she's at CCPN Bear."

"Still?"

"Yeah, seems so," Joe answers from the couch, "I went to see her during lunch, but she was heading out to do an interview. Barely got a kiss in before she was running off again."

"Man," Barry sighs, still standing, "but it's 11. I figured she'd be home."

"Last I heard from her was a few hours back. She said she couldn't make dinner tonight. Not sure if that meant she was calling it a night and heading to her apartment or if she's still at work right now."

"Yeah I texted her about an hour ago, but still haven't gotten an answer."

He was trying to be understanding, he really was. It's not like he wasn't one to also get inexplicably busy and lose track of time. So he really had no room to complain. But it sucked to be on the receiving end, especially since they were still figuring out the kinks of their newfound relationship.

They'd been on two dates, both which happened last week. And they'd kissed again on the second date, much to his happiness, given she initiated it. He'd been feeling overwhelmingly guilty for leaving, but Iris was as forgiving as ever, and she told him she understood, that she would always understand, as long as he came back home.

If Barry was being honest, there really was no place like home. Not when she was home. Not when any moment without her felt like a moment wasted. And that night last Thursday had been so special for the both of them, so emotional and tiring, but so worthwhile in the end. He wanted to ask her if he could call her his girlfriend. He didn't know whether that was even a valid question, whether they were dating or already together. But he didn't want to push, and he definitely didn't want her lips to leave his, didn't want her body apart from his, didn't want her hands to stop playing with his hair. So he decided against it, instead choosing to ask her the next time they'd go out.

But when the mayor declared he wasn't running for reelection, the Media Chronicles started and Iris was one of the leading reporters covering the story. Which meant more time at work and less time with him. Which meant no more dates for an indefinite time.

And he missed her. He really did.

"Maybe you could go visit? Go check in on her," Joe suggests.

"I just don't wanna distract her in case she's busy."

The detective smiles, nodding his head, sympathy in his eyes. "It doesn't hurt to just say hi? I'm sure she'd appreciate the break."

And Barry knew that was Joe's way of pushing him, but only subtly, so that he had an excuse to spend time with her. To be honest, Barry wasn't sure if he or Joe was more excited about the prospects of their new relationship.

"Okay, I'll do that," Barry says with a grin and Joe laughs as well as he watches his daughter's _boyfriend_ speed out of the house.

* * *

He sees the lights on at CCPN, but notices there wasn't as much chaos as there had been earlier in the morning, when he'd dropped her off at work. Except, even from the outside, he spotted her at her desk, hands on her face, body slouched in the chair.

Barry steps inside, careful not to scare her, but Iris doesn't flinch. He doesn't think she notices his presence, as her hands remain on her face, fingers rubbing her eyes vigorously.

When she sighs, he takes that as his cue to get her attention.

"Hey."

Iris's hands still at the sound of his voice and a smile creeps on her face. Not even her exhaustion could take away the joy of seeing him.

"Hey Bear," she answers, turning around in her chair and watching him walk over to take a seat in the chair in front of her.

"Hope I'm not distracting you."

"No don't worry," the reporter shakes her head, "I wasn't completely focused anyway."

Barry reaches out for her hands and she intertwines them together gratefully.

"Maybe it's time to call it a night?" he suggests.

"I wish I could, I really do. I just need to get this story out."

And he nods his head, but the bags under her eyes hold his attention and he wonders if it's possible to kiss all her weariness away.

He tries just that, as he tugs on her hand and pulls her into his lap.

As soon as he's relocated her, his lips come to her forehead, placing a firm, warm kiss, which elicits another sigh from her.

She nuzzles her nose in the crook of his neck and his arms wrap around her entire body, as he holds her in place, the only sound in the room coming from their respective heartbeats.

"I've been missing my best friend," he whispers into her hair.

Iris grins at that, and one of her hands comes to play with the lapels of his shirt.

"Is that what I am?" she asks, a teasing prosody in her voice.

"Yes."

That wasn't the answer she was expecting, nor the answer she really wanted to hear. But she doesn't get the chance to respond, because he continues.

"You're my best friend" - he kisses her forehead again - "my girlfriend" - his lips move to her nose - "my love" - he puts a bit of distance between their faces and locks eyes with her - "my everything."

And Iris closes her eyes when those words leave his mouth, and soon after, she feels his lips on hers, gentle and soft and welcoming.

So she kisses him back, lets her body relax at his touch, lets the stress fade away just for a few moments.

But the alarm on her phone breaks the quiescence of the mood and brings her back to a sharp reality.

She groans. "I have to get back to work."

"When do you think you'll be done?" he asks sincerely, still not letting her go, which proved to be an easy task given she didn't try to move.

"Maybe another hour? I have everything I need, I just have to actually write it."

Barry lets his fingers play with the hem of her shirt as he softly massages the skin of her waist, careful to not get too far gone, but just enough to help keep her calm.

"Can you procrastinate for another 5 minutes?" he asks.

"Why?"

"Because you're about to fall asleep."

She laughs. "Yeah even the coffee hasn't been helping. I think I've had more coffee this week than I have my entire life."

"See that much caffeine is never healthy," Barry jokes.

"Actually Mr. Science Guy," Iris corrects, "a study came out a few months ago showing that those who drank more coffee live longer lives."

"No."

"I'm serious! There was a positive correlation between coffee intake and lifespan!"

Truthfully, he knew which article she was referring to; he'd seen it a few weeks back and was trying his best to keep it from Iris, because he definitely didn't want to encourage her coffee addiction. But he didn't have much room to speak, given it was his staple too, though not nearly to the extent that it was hers.

So he merely says, "I'll believe it when I see it," which earns him a playful slap to the chest.

"Honestly though," Barry continues, "no more coffee tonight."

"I don't know if I can make it without it."

"Right. Which is why you should take a little nap."

"Here?" she asks.

"Here," he smiles, pulling her in closer to him.

And she smiles again, lets her face come to rest against his chest as he continues to place gentle kisses along her face, willing her to sleep.

A few seconds go by and just when he thinks she's fallen asleep, he hears a small voice. "Promise you'll wake me up?"

So he hugs her tighter and rests his head on top of hers, before whispering a reassuring _I promise._


	2. Chapter 2

4 a.m. It was 4 a.m. and she finally rewrote the last sentence of her article, proofreading it one more time before submitting it to the editor.

She should've been done at midnight. And really Barry was the only one to blame for this. Was to blame for the fact that she could've been home four hours ago, yet here she still was, staring at the bright screen of her laptop, sitting in a newsroom that would come alive again in three hours, but now it was filled with silence, darkness, and all the calm before the storm.

Well, okay, maybe it wasn't entirely his fault. He did wake her up at 11:10, exactly 5 minutes after she fell asleep, just like he'd promised. But she didn't realize how exhausted she'd been and he was so warm and soft and she was comfortable in his arms, so instead, she fell asleep again, with her head on his chest, with his hands holding her steady, and if it hadn't been for the rude shrill from her phone again, they probably would've stayed asleep till morning.

Iris had figured she'd crash at various points during the night even before Barry came to visit, which is why she set an alarm 5 minutes past every hour. And it came in handy.

Kind of.

It came in handy at 2:05 a.m. when she finally decided to listen to it.

So she turned it off and begrudgingly forced herself out of Barry's embrace. He woke up to her movements and she told him to go home, to get some rest, to go sleep off his own weariness, but he didn't listen; he told her there was no way he was leaving her alone and that he'd stay with her till she finished.

And really, she would've argued more, but his lips were fast on hers and his kisses made it hard to breathe, let alone speak, so she just nodded a quiet okay and let him fall asleep at CCPN.

This had been two hours ago. Now, it was 4 a.m. and when she turned around from her desk, she saw him, still sound asleep. He'd somehow managed to build a bed out of four rolly chairs, which hadn't been an easy task, but luckily his speed helped him get on all of them at the same time without the innovation falling apart and rolling away from itself.

Iris stared at him for a little while longer, barely making out his body in the pitch black of the room.

She was so tired, really. Her eyes were fighting to stay open and she couldn't even think about the reality that would come four hours from now, when she'd have to wake up only to come back to the newsroom.

All she wanted was a day off.

All she wanted was to stay in his arms, free of any obligation or responsibility.

But right now, that was a farfetched dream. So instead, she pushes those thoughts aside and walks over to him, crouches down by his head, careful not to knock the chairs over, using the flashlight on her phone to help ease the adventure.

Slowly, she brings her hand to his forehead and brushes a few hairs off it, before leaning in to kiss the spot where they'd been.

He stirs.

So she keeps kissing him, lips meandering to his temple before finding his left cheek and then his jawline and finally meeting his own lips.

She lets her tongue slip out of her mouth and doesn't pull away until she feels his lips open for her. With the invitation, she eases him back to consciousness, kissing him languidly and lazily till his arms reach out for her, till he leans into her.

That was her cue to break it off.

Much to his displeasure.

"We should go home," Iris hums into his neck, still peppering kisses along the skin.

"Mmm."

"Barry?" she asks, before pulling back to see him.

His face tenses and he immediately chases after her, but she only moves farther away until his eyes open to make contact with hers.

"What time is it?"

"4."

Barry groans. "In the morning?"

She nods her head and he lets out a deep sigh, hand coming to rub his eyes awake. In a quick second, he finds his way out of the chairs and before she knows what's happening, she feels her body fall flat on the soft fabric of her mattress, clothes completely removed, Barry spooning her from behind, his face buried in her neck.

She smiles at the touch of his lips to the sensitive area; he knew it tickled her and though they'd only slept together once, he was particularly fond of that spot, always finding his way back to it.

Between their third and fourth round last Thursday, she'd asked him why he liked nibbling on it so much. He told her because when my lips touch you there, you smile. Sometimes you even laugh. And there's nothing more beautiful than that.

Their first time was sentimental and emotional to say the least, as sentimental as his words and musings, as sentimental as her tears and relief that he was finally back home. But somehow, this moment seemed to match, with both of them curled up in bed, him already asleep - at least she figured from his steady breathing and motionless body - and her enjoying his warmth, scooting into him as much as was possible, hugging his arms tightly with hers.

"You should sleep."

Iris tilts her head back just a bit. "You're still awake?"

"Just barely," Barry says, voice almost inaudible, "but I don't wanna sleep if you don't."

"I might as well pull an all nighter Bear," she whispers.

"Why?"

"Because my mind is racing and I have to be at CCPN in a couple of hours anyway."

He shifts his body so that he can meet her eyes. She sees the exhaustion in his, but she also sees the determination to convince her otherwise.

"You'll be drained, Iris."

"Yeah but I don't know if I can wake up again at 8 if I fall asleep now. I didn't know how I got up at 2 in the first place."

"You haven't been sleeping at all?" he asks, softness and concern in his voice.

"It's just been a busy stretch, that's all," she offers and she doesn't think he's convinced so she adds, "really it's just the frenzy of the news. I'm sure this'll die down soon."

"Yeah but you'll still be exhausted."

"I'll be okay."

"No," he shakes his head, fingers gently rubbing the tops of her hands, "you need your rest. You always tell me I need to find time for sleep so I can do my job. You need to do the same."

"Yeah but Bar-"

He stops her with a kiss.

"It's not fair to your body. You've been sleeping less and less each night of this week Iris. I don't even think you came home yesterday. It's too much."

"It's my job," she justifies.

He lets out a long sigh, but can't help but smile at her persistence. "I know it is," he says reassuringly, "and I know your dedication to it is what makes you so great. But sometimes it's okay to take a break."

When she doesn't say anything, he adds, "just call CCPN. Tell them you'll be in tomorrow after lunch. I'm sure your boss will understand, given how much effort you've put in this week."

She nods her head as her eyes close shut. "Yeah I guess I can do that."

Barry leans down to kiss her again, satisfied with her agreement, before shifting back to his original spot, face coming to rest at the junction of her shoulder and neck. "I'll wake you up, I promise."

"The problem is I have to actually wake up," she laughs, hugging him a little tighter, letting his comfort will her into sleep.

"Don't worry," he responds, voice muffled from the proximity of his mouth to her body, "if you don't, I'll just speed over and tell them you have a Flash story to cover."

She laughs at that. It almost felt sinister to use him as her excuse, but he was offering and she was too comfortable to be bothered by a little bit of deception.

"Okay," Iris sighs, "but The Flash only gets my attention till 1 p.m."

"That's all the time he needs," Barry smiles before kissing her one more time and letting them both fall asleep in each other's embrace, away from the rest of the chaos, alone in their own peace.


End file.
